While the Indian openers are continuously struggling in the ongoing away Test series on the Australia soil, another bad news has just come as the young opening batsman Prithvi Shaw has been ruled out from the remaining Test matches of the series. Meanwhile, Mayank Agarwal has been added in the Test squad as the replacement of Shaw.
As the second Test of the four-match Test series is running at the new Perth Stadium (Optus Stadium), it means only two matches are left of the series and Shaw will miss both the upcoming Test matches.
Also read: Hardik Pandya Included In The Squad For The Last Two Tests
Prior to the Test series, India had a four-day warm-up game against Cricket Australia XI at Sydney Cricket Ground (Sydney). During that game, the 19-year-old Shaw, who scored 66 runs in the first innings of that game, suffered the left ankle injury. Fielding at the deep mid-wicket boundary, Shaw ran to attempt for a catch but twisted his left ankle while landing on the ground.
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It was very painful for the youngster and soon he left the field with the help of others. The young man was rushed to the local hospital for the scans which later revealed that Shaw suffered a lateral ligament injury.
Initially, he was declared unavailable for the first Test of the series and later it was stretched to the second Test too. However, before the beginning of the second Test, the Indian head coach Ravi Shastri claimed that the young man is getting fitter with the time progresses and there is a possibility of his return during the third Test of the series, starting on 26 December at Melbourne.
But now, the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) has announced that Shaw has been ruled out from the remaining Test series. Also, the 27-year-old Mayank Agarwal has been added in the squad as the replacement of Shaw. The Karnataka batsman Mayank Agrawal hasn’t made his international cricket debut yet. However, he was in the Test squad during the home Test series against Windies in this September.
The present Indian openers Murali Vijay and KL Rahul both have disappointed in the ongoing Test series. In the first two Tests of the ongoing series, the Indian openers have just scored 97 runs in overall with the average of just 12.12.
